After years of working 70 hours a week at jobs that paid the bills but brought no joy, Barbara Weibel felt like the proverbial "hole in the donut" -- solid on the outside, but empty on the inside. In early 2007, searching for meaning in life, she started her blog, Hole In The Donut, and set out to pursue her true passions of travel, writing, and photography. Twelve years later, she's still traveling and writing stories about the destinations she visits and the people she meets, all with an emphasis on cultural travel and local immersion.

Christensen is the creator of Amateur Traveler, a popular online travel website that focuses primarily on travel destinations. Amateur Traveler includes a blog as well as audio podcasts, which amassed around 4 million downloads in 2018. Amateur Traveler is used to teach English at Oxford University and to test English proficiency for employment with the Thai Foreign Ministry. Chris has won a Lowell Thomas Award, 4 NATJA awards, and a SMITTY Award from Travel + Leisure as the "best independent travel journalist".

Carmen Edelson is a full time luxury travel influencer and writer, specializing in luxury and family travel. She launched Carmen’s Luxury Travel in 2013 which specializes in luxury and family travel after receiving encouragement from a close friend to document and share her amazing experiences, love of travel, and photography. She started traveling through Europe and the Caribbean about a decade ago. Since she started in her 40s, she wanted to help others get started finding out about the world. Her interest in traveling grew greater because she wanted her children to learn firsthand about other countries and cultures.